I’m actually excited to get to the more challenging + complex level of learning Spanish. Learning the conjugations of “estar” and “ser”, or how to say the names of different animals, is all in the past 😋

I am feeling very determined to become fluent in Spanish. It was a dream of mine before I ever met my husband, Pipe – and I’m finally starting to feel like it can actually become a reality.

So I’ve come to start learning verbs in their past tense forms 🙀🤦🏼‍♀️ Basically, a whole other chart to memorize… I first started learning about this form of conjugation on my Duolingo app. However, the app doesn’t explain conjugation. So I decided to look up some commonly used verbs that I can memorize in the past tense conjugations.

I found this website that has such a GREAT chart that shows you how to conjugate verbs ending in -ar, -er, and -ir.

1. MEMORIZE. The very first thing I did with these new words is I re-wrote them by hand in English and in Spanish so that I could begin to memorize the meanings.

2. FLASHCARDS TO LEARN CONJUGATION. I took those words and made flash cards that I could study. Once you learn the endings of the regular verbs it gets a lot easier. You can just apply the same principle to all the words that end the same.

3. PRACTICE QUESTIONS. Once I finish memorizing the vocab, I’ll move on to the practice questions they provide on that web site 👆🏼 Here are some more practice sites that I found!

4. READ A BOOK IN SPANISH. Another great way that I’ve been learning my past-tense verbs is through reading. I went online and typed in “4th grade reading list”. I took that list and searched for the titles in Spanish. I try to read a chapter a night, using my dictionary to understand any difficult words!

5. WRITE A SHORT STORY. Once I finish the practice sheets and feel pretty good about my memorization, I want to write a short story using all the verbs I’ve learned. An even better option would be to make up a sentence and say the sentence to a Spanish speaker. Try and have a conversation.

Now what’s really gonna be tough is when I get to the irregular verbs 🙈

Besides the flash cards, practice questions, and the duolingo app, I’m just talking a lot with my husband, his family, and our friends! Talking is definitely the best strategy for learning a new language.

What are your strategies for learning another language? Share them in the comments!

December is here and I’m taking advantage of the opportunity to listen to Christmas music non-stop without being judged 😋 Spanish Christmas music, that is!!! Follow my Spotify playlist to listen to all the music in one place, or check out the list below! 👇🏼

We all have those words that we try to avoid because they’re just so difficult to pronounce 🙈 For me, I try to avoid words with too many r’s in them, haha. Pipe and I made a super fun video of him teaching me how to pronounce hard-to-say words.

Keep scrolling to watch the video!

I had a really fun time this past weekend working at a Fall festival with my job 👻 And the best part was that I was able to practice a lot of Spanish! 😻 There are quite a few people in my community that only understand Spanish, so it was really exciting for me to have the opportunity to communicate with them.

I was able to ask them if they wanted one of our free toothbrushes (“¿Quieres un cepillo?), and then I told them the colors we had (rojo, azul, verde, y morado). And I feel really confident that my accent was very good!

I only got nervous when one woman went rogue and started telling me something in Spanish 🙈🙈 But after I asked her to repeat it I was able to understand that she was telling me that she had had braces for five years, so no more for her (Yo tuve frenos por cinco años, entonces no más). 😋 It feels so good to successfully have a conversation in Spanish all on my own!

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Below is the list of words that we used in the video. You can add these words to your vocab list if there are any you don’t know (: Watch the video to hear the pronunciation!

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1. Extraterrestre: Extraterrestrial/Alien

2. Rompecabezas: A Puzzle

3. Ferrocarril: Railroad

4. Extraordinario: Extraordinary

5. Madrugar: To Wake Up Early

6. Electrocardiograma: Electrocardiogram

7. Locomotora: Locomotive

8. Axila: Armpit

9. Regañar: To Scold/Discipline

10. Guantanamera: The Title of a Famous Cuban Song

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That’s it for today you guys! Don’t forget to check out the video – we hope it is helpful/entertaining for you 😋 Add some words to this list! Leave a comment with some words that you have a difficult time pronouncing.

Grammar is one of the hardest concepts for me to learn (even in English 😂😩) But that just means I’m going to work that much harder to wrap my mind around it 😃👍🏼

Below is a small list of words that I’ll be studying deeper into how to properly conjugate them, how to use them in a sentence, and what they mean. I’ll also be linking sources that will help us learn these verbs (: Enjoy + let me know if this has helped you!

So, this verb is used to express actions that have been or will be completed. + since it is used to form perfect tenses, it has to be joined with a past participle. (It is not used to express possession, like tener)

You guys, I’m getting so excited to learn more and more sayings and phrases so I can communicate with people better! Working at an orthodontist office, we have several patients who only or mostly speak Spanish. I have so many opportunities to communicate but I run out of words to say 🤦🏽‍♀️

So today I’m learning some new things 🤔, and also putting into long-term memory some phrases or words that are hard for me to remember. I used my SpanishDict app and wrote down the phrases I wanted to memorize.

👉🏼 Write down any that you don’t know so you can practice, as well.

1. What do you do for a living? | ¿A qué se dedica?

2. Where are you from? | ¿De dónde eres?

3. Where do you live? | ¿Dónde vive?

4. What’s new? | ¿Qué hay de nuevo?

5. Pleased to meet you. | Encantado de conocerte.

6. See you later. | Hasta pronto.

7. See you soon. | Nos vemos.

8. I will be right back. | Regreso en un momento.

9. I have to go. | Tengo que irme.

Vamos a practicar! Have fun learning these new phrases and try to use them in a conversation (: Chao!

Today I want to share with you the three apps I use on a daily basis to practice Spanish. These are honestly a key part in my daily learning 🤓. These apps are especially helpful if you don’t have anyone at home to talk to in Spanish because to learn a language we need to practice every single day. + these apps make it easy (:

I want to encourage you to make it a goal to set aside time every day (however long you can) to use one or all of these apps. Practice is the only thing that will get you to where you want to be 🤗 (I’m reminding myself now 😋) Set realistic goals every day so that they are manageably accomplished. + luckily these apps are goal-oriented so you don’t have to think about it too much!

P.S. I’m not sponsored by any of these apps – I genuinely use them and love them!

1. Duolingo

This app is the one I’ve been using the longest and is seriously so wonderful. You start out with the basic levels and you unlock new levels as you learn. I like how they do a variety of learning techniques.

They also have a section where you can chat with one of their “Bots”. It’s cool because it gives you practice texting. (If you have someone you can text back and forth with in Spanish, that’s great, too!)

The only con I have with Duolingo personally is they teach you the “proper” Spanish from the Spaniard dialect instead of Colombian. Since I’m trying to learn the Colombian dialect, there are a few words that Felipe has to correct for me. So just be aware that there are some words that are not used in Colombia on this app.

I just started a Club on Duolingo! 😻 You can join in and we can help keep each other accountable!

2. SpanishDict

This is another app that I use but kind of in a different way. I use it more to memorize phrases that I will use in every day life. I press the menu in the upper left corner, and then press Phrases. That takes me to the Phrasebook where they have a bunch of categories to choose from. I like to choose a category, and then take a piece of paper (or index cards) and write down all the phrases I don’t know. Then it’s just a matter of repeating them over and over again until they are memorized.
I don’t generally like to use the word of the day or the email that they send with a new word, because Pipe says that most of the words are not really used that much in every day life.

3. Memrise

I just got this app recently, but it seems really good so far. It’s a storyline-based app, so you have to go through this space adventure as you learn. It’s really fun! (The only thing I’m not a fan of is there is this alien character that “evolves” as you gain points.)

I’m still learning about this app, but it is very focused on making the short-term memory into long-term memory. I think it’s very well done!

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I hope this blog post was beneficial for you all! Please let me know in the comments if you use any of these apps and what you think about them, or if you have a different app that is your favorite.

I’m an American woman learning to speak Spanish from my Colombian husband and other resources. Follow along with my journey if it is also your dream to learn Spanish!

Hey there! My name is Hannah and I’m going to start off this blog post letting you know what “level” I’m at in my Spanish speaking/understanding abilities (: My desire for this blog is that, in my own process of learning Spanish as a second language, I can bring others on my journey and help them along, as well. To be a fluent Spanish speaker has always been my dream – I’m passionate about the language, the culture, and the people. I’ve also wanted to learn Spanish from a Colombian so that worked out in my favor 😛 My husband was born in Bogotá, Colombia.

I have been trying to teach my self Spanish for years, but have really been able to grow since being in community with other Spanish speakers. And I believe this blog will give me the discipline and motivation to practice consistently. If the descriptions below seem to fit your own level of Spanish, we’ll be starting from the same place!

Let’s dive in!

Verbal Comprehension

It’s sometimes hard for me to understand a general conversation that is happening around me, but if I’m spoken to directly and clearly I usually am able to understand what is being said. I can understand simple sentences perfectly (unless they are using words I’m not familiar with), but complex sentences I’m still having trouble with.

Reading Comprehension

I can read at the level of a 3rd or 4th grader. It’s easier to understand when you can see the word and have time to process it. I’m definitely the most advanced in this area.

Speaking

I can say simple sentences. I try to speak as much as I can and then ask for help when I get stuck. The BEST way to learn a language, truly, is to speak it. As much as possible, every single day.

So this is my starting point from here on out. I’m excited to grow and learn, and to hopefully bring a few of you along with me! The following blog posts will be under one of these categories:

Vocabulary (Words, Expressions, + Short Phrases, Slang)

Grammar (Verb Conjugation + Sentence Structure)

Pronunciation (Read, Listen, Repeat Videos)

Resources + Learning Materials (Apps, TV Shows, Movies, Immersion)

Places to Go/Travel in Colombia + Colombian Products

Again, the Spanish I’m going to be learning is specifically the Bogotá dialect. So there will be some words or sayings that are not said in other countries.